constancedm

Achilles / Brad Pitt: I would be tempted to agree with the reviewer who called him a graduate of the "Joey Tribbiani school of acting", however I know that he can do much better than this. I can therefore only explain it by Petersen's poor directing. (too many close up shots of Achilles looking far far away, looking angry, looking proud,...) To many shots of Achilles' curvy rear end as he wakes up. Yes he is gorgeous but for God's sake this is a historical film not a Pirelli calendar.

Hector /Eric Bana: The reason I went to see the film. Great performance. Can't wait to see what he can do his next films. Here's another teenage fantasy: Muscular bare-chested man holding a baby in his arms: Wolfgang you have to work on that cliche problem of yours!

Paris/ Orlando Bloom: His wimp of a character won't do any good to his fan club.

Priam/ Peter O'Toole: Should get an Oscar nod for his heartbreaking performance.

Helen/ Diane Kruger: Her acting is fine but her beauty lacks the distinction that would have launched a 1000 ships. Saffron Burrows/Andromache has got it, but needs to find another way to portray distress. Fishmouth with chin twitching is not a good idea.

Odysseus/Sean Bean: Excellent as always.

Achilles' mother/ Julie Christie: Only a cameo, but captivating.

I had a problem with the film's structure: The film shows us the arrogant and greedy Greeks as being the heroes therefore the spectator should identify with them, however unlikeable they may be. On the other side you have the Trojans, who are good and fair but who unfortunately are the enemy. You end up disassociating with the story for lack of identification logic. If not likeable, Achilles' character should have been made more attractive, interesting. He's just shown as an arrogant maverick Californian surfer with no apparent reason for being the a-hole he is. It is all too long (but pretty empty), too shiny and even though I have nothing specific to bring to attention (the dialogues and the delivery?), it all felt like a big anachronism. We are left with a chick flick for guys, good enough for straight to video.

I first saw Beyond Rangoon years ago, and my interest in South East Asia has kept growing ever since.

Laura's husband and son have just been murdered. Seeing her sink into depression, her sister takes her on a tour of Burma hoping the change will somehow get her back on track. Due to a thoughtless mistake Laura finds herself trapped in the country on her own, finding herself face to face with the exactions of the military dictatorship. She meets an old professor who becomes her only way out of the country. During their escape through the Burmese jungle, tracked by the military, Laura finds herself forced to fight her way back into life. She gradually lets go of her own pain to focus on the country's wounds. And I just love the ending, it's a wise one.

I'd like to answer some other reviewers' comments: Laura is MEANT to be in that comatose don't-give-a-damn state. Arquette's interpretation is spot on. That's the sort of state I'd be in if I had seen the people I cherish the most lying in a pool of blood on my living room floor. This is what makes her wander out of the safety of the US Embassy even though as an intelligent woman she's bound to sense the danger of doing this. What's happened to her has made her almost suicidal, "I was stone myself".

The film is well paced, the acting is good, and the scenery is beautiful. Intense and food for thought, this film will be haunting you for days. That's an 8/10.

So what is Columbia waiting for to release it on DVD ??

I wasn't expecting much from this film but I was offered tickets for a preview so I thought I'd go.

This has all pretty much been seen before (Braveheart meets Dances with wolves, with a dead poet society moment), but I loved it.

It is a story of redemption. My favourite subject. Cruise's caracter starts the film as a man in ruins and comes back to life as he spends time with the samurais, learns their ways and fights off his old nightmares.

It is a very beautiful film (scenery, choreography, story), the japanese cast is excellent and the insight into this unknown (to most westerners) civilization is fascinating. LS definitely made me want to learn more about it. Made me feel I've got my life all wrong...

Too loud and violent for my taste at times, but as the film goes you understand that's the way it's supposed to be.

Deserves an 8/10 although there were some laughs when Cruise came out wearing the samurai costume.